Speeches Shim
According to the statistics of 2019, 800 families raise children with autism in the Brest region, located in the southwest of Belarus. Several years ago, not all autistic kids had an opportunity to receive an education at school and preschool. Many of them could not attend educational institutions due to the lack of tutors who would support them in the classroom. In Belarus, the law entitles autistic children to have an assistant (tutor) at school, but there were no training programs nor methodological support for tutors.
Natalia Dubeshko, Head of the Department of Preschool Education and Technology at Baranovichi State University (BarSU), took part in the USAID Community Connections visitor exchange program "Teacher Preparation for Inclusive Education" in 2018. Natalia and her colleagues explored the American experience of implementing inclusion practices in Des Moines, Iowa. Based on this exchange of experiences, they created and led 'University for Children', an educational center at BarSU. Here students receive hands-on training to support children with disabilities in their educational journey.
In 2014, Yulia Shpakovskaya, as the head of Smorgon social service center "Warm House," took part in the Community Connections exchange program on the theme of “Domestic Violence Prevention”. Yulia and nine other Belarusian professionals spent three weeks in St. Louis, Missouri, exploring best American practices to prevent violence. Today, Yulia continues her professional career as the Deputy Head of the Young Women Christian Association Smorgon, implementing several projects to promote gender equality, prevent domestic violence, and support victims of domestic violence.
Natalia Miranchuk, one of the two Mama PRO co-founders, created an inclusive communication and educational platform providing current and prospective parents with numerous offline and online opportunities to talk to leading experts in health care, social protection and education. Both partners of Mama PRO have fully committed their professional careers to projects in support of young families that have or are expecting babies, including parents with disabilities.
Elena Mezentseva is an activist of the Bona NGO and Kobrin Business Women Club. In 2013, she was selected to take part in the Community Connections visitor exchange program. Elena spent three weeks in Chicago, Illinois where she met with local civic and political leaders from the U.S. government and non-profit organizations who exposed her to the best American practices of using ICT to strengthen the NGOs’ capacity.
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Last updated: August 30, 2021
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